Is ice bath therapy good for you?
One thing that many athletes, weekend warriors, and fitness enthusiasts do after intense physical activity is take an ice bath. Otherwise known as cryotherapy or cold-water immersion, an ice bath involves dipping in cold water (around 50 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit) for around ten to fifteen minutes.
In most cases, people do this after a competition or an intense workout session as a means of dealing with sore and painful muscles. If you are wondering if ice bath therapy is good for anyone who wishes to give it a try, the answer is yes – provided you don’t have any medical restrictions that don’t allow extreme temperature differences or great cold. Your health always comes first.
Let’s delve deeper into the positive effects of ice bath therapy in this article.
Offers relief from aching and sore muscles
One thing that ice bath therapy can do for you is alleviate and soothe muscle soreness and pain. This is particularly helpful after an intense workout. It exposes you to the cold, which can stimulate faster muscle recovery no matter how grueling your training or workout session is.
The ice bath produces even better results if you take it after you have pushed your body to its limits than when applying an ice pack on areas that hurt the most. The good thing about relieving sore muscles right away is that it also supports muscle recovery and growth.
Easy to incorporate into your daily lifestyle
An important fact that you have to know about ice or cold baths is that you do not have to be a professional athlete or an intense fitness enthusiast to enjoy its benefits. Even if you are a beginner, you will still find it easy to make it a part of your lifestyle.
You can begin by enjoying a cold shower every morning. What’s great about it is that the entire experience is invigorating. It gives you the means to relax and makes you feel rejuvenated, which is a fantastic way to prepare for a busy day.
Increases the level of your energy
Through ice bath therapy, you get to expose your body to the cold for a short period. This is beneficial in making some positive changes in your hormone secretion. During your exposure to the cold, you get to specifically increase norepinephrine secretion, a hormone that contributes to regulating your focus, energy, and attention.
Strengthens your central nervous system
Another thing that ice bath therapy can do for you is it improves your central nervous system. It does so as it improves your sleep every night and lessens your fatigue. The improvement in your central nervous system is also a good thing as it boosts your explosiveness and reaction time during workouts.
Lessens your inflammatory response
If you are into hardcore and intense workouts, then you may notice your muscles experiencing inflammation. This is especially true if you have ignored doing proper warm-ups before the actual workout. In that case, immersing your body in an ice bath can help lower the temperature of your core body.
The therapy can lower muscle inflammation, which is good for quicker muscle recovery no matter how intense your workout is. It can also significantly shorten your period of recovery, which makes your entire body fully prepared for your next workout sessions.
Lowers blood pressure
Are you suffering from high blood pressure? Then an ice bath or cold-water therapy can help. It can lower your blood pressure and heart rate. Moreover, it contributes a lot to boosting blood circulation. Having this therapy regularly even aids in clearing congested arteries.
Conclusion
With all these benefits, ice bath therapy is good for nearly everyone. Make sure you do not have any medical condition which doesn´t allow to shock your body with a great temperature difference or with ice cold water. If you have a normal health condition, ice bath therapy can significantly improve not only your athletic performance but your overall health and wellness.
